Young Explorer Katey Stamm, describes her experience at the 2000 Van Buren County Livestock Camp for dogs.
"Last summer I attended the 4-H Livestock Camp. I took my dog Maggie and we had a lot of fun! Every day there were demonstrations of jobs that you could have, that let you work with dogs. One was a Drug Detective Dog Handler. The man, Officer Sanderson, showed us some of the things that his working German Shepherd could do. He found packets of "drugs", chased and caught "criminals", and did basic obedience. We also had people show us how their dogs were trained to track people. One dog was trained to find criminals that had fled and the other dog was trained to find people that were lost."
"My favorite demonstration was from Leader Dog for the Blind. We were given the opportunity to be blindfolded and led around by a real Leader Dog. The feeling I got when I put the blindfold over my eyes was complete helplessness. However, when I grasped the handle of Rosie's harness, I felt totally comfortable. The feeling was amazing!"
"In addition to the demonstrations, we also worked on our obedience, agility, and showmanship skills. We also had many group activities and got to meet lots of other kids. If you are looking for a fun camp to attend this summer, you might want to think about 4-H Livestock Camp."
Livestock Camp is not just for dogs; many 4-Hers showing livestock at the Fair can go to Livestock Camp (excluding cats). Van Buren County 4-Hers are encouraged to attend Livestock Camp in the summer. 4-Hers bring their animals to practice showing techniques, learn valuable information about animals, and have fun with their fellow 4-Hers.
